Apparatus for fusion joining plastic pipe

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for butt-end joining two pieces of plastic pipe including an inflatable mandrel and heated clamping means for enclosing the abutted pipe ends over a first and second connection ends over the thermally controlled region which extends bilaterally beyond the melt region. This end-surrounding apparatus then cooperates both with a companion apparatus employed for the described internal support and with the unmelted longitudinally adjacent portions of the subject first and second connection ends both to prevent undesired deformational flow of melted component material and to bonding-conducively pressurize the softened component-to-component interface area.



